The Substitute
by Blanky
Summary: While Casper's teacher miss Banshee is away, the little ghosts get a substitute teacher in the form of the pretty, sweet, softly spoken miss Honey Bunny, who not only captures the little ghosts hearts, but Stretch's too. ONE SHOT. Enjoy!


While Casper's school teacher miss Banshee is away, the little ghosts get a substitute teacher in the form of sweet, lovely,softly spoken miss Honey-Bunny, who not only seems to captivate the little ghosts' heart, but also Stretch's. ONE SHOT.

Enjoy!!:)

"Ok kids, class is over!" rang out the schoolmarm's voice cheerily. It had been yet another day of usual lessons at the usual school for little ghosts. Except for the teacher, that is. No, this was not the hysterical, attention grabbing, hussy miss Banshee, who luckily happened to be absent that day, so the kids had aquired a substitute teacher. Her name was miss Honey Bunny and compared to miss Banshee, she was softly spoken, younger and a real cutie pie: nice, and sugar and spice. The little ghosts got their books together and hovered around the room for a while, before saying, "Bye, miss Honey Bunny, see you tomorrow!" Only one young ghost still remained, his head buried in his hands, dozing. Miss Banshee would have been appalled and given him a nasty wake-up call. But not miss Honey Bunny. She went up and tapped him softly on the shoulder, whispering:  
"It's time to go home now, Casper dear."  
"Sorry miss Honey Bunny," said Casper, getting up, clearly embarassed.  
"That's alright Casper," she smiled at him. "Why don't I take you home?"  
"Huh? Thanks, but really, there is no need."  
"No, i insist, it will be fine." Casper had no choice but to followed her out of the room.

"Is this where you live?" asked miss Honey Bunny, once they were outside Whipstaff manor, and rang the bell. A few seconds later, Stretch's head popped out through the door. He seemed annoyed. "Say Bulbhead, what took you so-" he stopped suddenly as he acknowledged the beautiful blond before him - long...?" She was a pretty little thing, with her sky-blue little dress, blond 60's bobbed hairstyle (like Audrey in the 1986 musical, Little Shop of Horrors) sweet pink lips and mysterious, deep green eyes. She was the most beautiful supernatural he had ever laid eyes on.  
"Hi!"she smiled at him. "You must be Casper's Daddy!" That remark caught both Casper and Stretch offguard. "I'm his teacher, miss Honey Bunny, but you can call me Bunny!"  
"Um, yeah..." Stretch replied, finally finding his voice. "Im Stretch, it's lovely to meet ya, miss Honey Bunny!"  
"Likewise! And may I say what a wonderful job you've done, bringing up Casper to be such a dedicated young spook!"  
"Yeah, I'm proud of my little boy," Stretch said, locking Casper into a tight embrace.  
"As you should be!" she agreed. At that point Casper disappeared into the house, clearly embarrassed,right before bidding his teacher goodbye and thanking her for bringing him home, and leaving Stretch to melt into a pool of love bubbles.  
"Do you know, mr. Stretch, tonight is TransPARENT Teacher Night- a time for transparents and teachers to come together and discuss all things academic, your child's progress, problems they might be having and best solutions for the transparent and child. We are always looking for enthusiastic transparent-spookers, so I was wondering if you would like to attend and maybe say a few words tonight? If you wouldn't mind, that is."  
"Sure! I wouldn't mind at all! That'd be just marvy!"  
"Wonderful! Then I will see you at the school tonight! Bye now!" she waved at him before floating away energetically. Stretch just stood, staring after her, his cheeks all hot and flushed.

"Ok boys, help me out. I got a hot date tonite, and i'm wondering what to wear."  
"You want our help bro? Sure, but..." Fatso started.  
"First, you gotta tell us who the unlucky dame is," finished Stinkie. Stretched flashed him a nasty look, but his loving mood prevented him from doing anything about it.  
"She's... Oh, forget it guys," Stretch muttered. No way was he going to share this pretty ghoul with them. He floated over to Casper's room, who was busy doing his homework. Kat was on a school trip, so he had the desk to himself for a few days.  
"Hey Bulbhead, how do I look?" He was wearing his trademark tux.  
"You look great, Dad," mocked Casper, but he couldn't help being happy for his uncle.  
"Thanks son," said Stretch and a gentle smile crossed his lips. Maybe this father-son relationship wasn't a bad idea. He went over to Casper and embraced him in a fatherly hug.  
"You'd better go, or you'll be late," Casper advised. Uncle Stretch nodded and released Casper, heading for the door.  
"And uncle Stretch?" Casper said suddenly, "remember to just be yourself." Stretch smiled back. Stretch shot him a grin and wink, which meant "I gotcha."

When Stretch got to the school there were already crowds of transparents entering the building, among them distinguished academic speakers.  
"So glad to see you, Stretch," miss Honey Bunny said, appearing suddenly.  
"You're looking drop dead gorgeous, miss Bunny," Stretch said, making her blush a little. "These are for you." He handed her a lovely bunch of flowers, which made her go bright pink from sweetness. "Thanks, Stretch, i absolutely adore flowers!" she beamed at him, before the 2 went on into the building.

"So, ladies and gentlemen, as transparents, it is your duty to bring up your little ghoulies as best you can, to be ghosts of the future!" miss Honey Bunny finished her speech, and everybody clapped. Stretch smiled and sighed as he clapped. He had sat right at the front, to be near the ghoul of loveliness. "And now, we have a special ghost here tonight, a dedicated transparent, who has done an excellent job of bringing up his little boy, a true role model for any transparent. Stretch, would you please come up here and say a few words please?" Everybody clapped and looked around for this role model transparent.

Stretch felt quite nervous, but he got up and took the stand next to miss Honey Bunny. "Um yeah, like the lovely miss Honey Bunny said, it is our duty to bring up our kids right and turn them into model young ghost of the future. I have achieved this through years of toil and hard work, trying to bring out the best in my little boy and make him somebody to do me proud, and a role model for the present and future generations. Brining up children is no easy task, but we as transparents must strive to give our kids the best. Thank you everybody." By the time he had finished, his cheeks were red and he was perspiring buckets. "Thank you so much, mr. Stretch," miss Honey Bunny clapped and beamed at him, while the crow went wild with applause, making him smile.

The meeting was now over and everybody had and miss Honey Bunny were alone, sitting on a headstone under the pale glow of the moon. Miss Honey Bunny was the first to speak.  
"I wanted to thank you, Stretch, for coming tonight and for that wonderful speech you made. Casper is very lucky to have such a father as you."  
"Thats ok, it was nothing," he smiled, somewhat nervously, then his smile disappeared and he looked down uncomfortably.  
"Whats wrong, Stretch?" asked miss Honey Bunny.  
"Nothing, it's just...." he sighed. There was no other way round it, he had to come clean. "I lied to you, miss Bunny. I'm not Casper's daddy, im his has 3, me and 2 more. We are his father's brothers." Miss Honey Bunny listened and took it all in.  
"Really? Why didn't you tell me earlier?"  
"Its just that...from the moment I saw you i knew i hadnt seen such a beautiful ghoul in my afterlife, and I like you miss Bunny-a lot, and that made me act funny. I guess i thought you would be more impressed if I said I was Casper's father. Im sorry for lying to ya." Miss Honey Bunny sat there silent for a few seconds, unsure of what to do. He expected her to slap him in the face and yell at him, or at least to walk away. And then, she took his hand in hers and turned to face him, a smile on her face.  
"Look, I don't care if you're Casper's father or his uncle, I like you too, very much, just the way you are."  
"So, youre not mad?" he asked, and she shook her head. "Can you forgive me?"  
"Sure, I can do that. Just promise me, no more trying to impress me, ok?"  
"OK" Stretch agreed.  
"I have to go now," she said. "Thank you again for coming! It was great." She got up to leave but just before she did, she leaned over and kissed him on the cheek. "See you next time, Stretch!" she called out, disappearing from sight. Stretch stood, there, unable to move. He couldn't believe that he had just been kissed by such a beautiful creature. He sighed and melted into the pool of love bubbles again. This was the start of something beautiful. Casper's words came into his mind and he smiled to himself. Just be yourself. Casper had been right.


End file.
